Ecobreves – BRAZIL: World Bank Cancels Loan to Meat Processing Plant

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Jun 22 2009 (IPS) - The International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank, rescinded 45 million dollars of financing granted in 2007 to the Grupo Bertin, Brazil's largest beef processing plant. The “shared decision” is due to the economic crisis, according to the company. But environmentalists see it as a victory for their accusations against the meat packing plants that purchase beef from illegal ranchers that deforest the Amazon.

The next step is for the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) to stop financing deforestation, said Roberto Smeraldi, director of Friends of the Earth-Brazilian Amazon.

“BNDES partnered with the companies” and will be held responsible, therefore “its way out is to change the purchasing policies and clean up the environmental damage,” Smeraldi told Tierramérica.